March Newsletter
2015 - 2016 Academic Year
Save the Date for Our Second Annual Spring Family Festival
We are looking for a few parents to help with the planning and preparation of the festival. If you are interested in volunteering to help, please touch base with Michelle.
Otis Spunkmeyer Fundraiser
Chip, Chip Hooray!!! Our Otis Spunkmeyer Fundraiser is underway and we're super excited! Okay so we know that Otis doesn't exactly offer the healthiest of options... But they sure are yummy! Aside from the delicious cookies offered they also offer pizza from Hansen, soups from Soul Warming soup bags (Panera Bread), Cheesecakes from Atlanta Cheesecake Company and pretzels from Auntie Anne's. The Otis Spunkmeyer warehouse is located locally in Bradenton. A small detail that makes this fundraiser just a wee little bit eco-friendly.
The fundraiser will run from Monday, February 15th - Friday, March, 4th . The profits made from this fundraiser will go towards helping to fund the Spring Family Festival as well as playground enhancements. The classroom who raises the most will win a pizza party!
If you would like to support our fundraising efforts for the Spring Family Festival, but did not see anything from Otis Spunkmeyer, we also accept donations of any size made by cash or check. We sincerely appreciate your support!
Parent/Teacher Conferences
Parent/Teacher Conferences will continue during the month of March. Parents can choose to have a face-to-face conference or a phone conference, if that suits your schedule better. Keep your eyes out for an email specific to your child's cottage with more information and a sign-up sheet for a scheduled time slot will be posted in your child’s classroom. During this scheduled time with your child’s teacher, you will have the opportunity to review your child’s assessment as well as discuss your child’s growth and development.
Dr. Seuss' Birthday Celebration!
St. Patrick's Day Celebrations
Mini Break - School Closed
Mark Your Calendars
2/15 - 3/4 - Otis Spunkmeyer Fundraiser
3/2 - The Cat in the Hat Visits The Cottages!
3/13 - 3/18 - Spring Break for VPK students ( Non-Instructional Days)
3/18 - TCMLC Closed for Mini Break
3/17 - St. Patrick's Day Celebrations
3/27 - Easter Sunday
March Birthdays!
Today you are YOU, that is TRUER than true. There is NO ONE alive who is YOUER than YOU!
3/11 - Reed G.
3/15 - Jack W.
3/16 - Sophia S.
3/17 - Oliver L.
3/19 - Ms. Amanda
3/23 - Brynn L.
3/30 - Abner B.
Happy Birthday to our friends born in March!
Cricket Cottage News
Go Green
In honor of St. Patrick's Day, we will be introducing to our friends the color green. We will highlight green sensory bottles in the play area. We will also promote motor skills by moving and grooving to musical rhythms and beats. Our younger infants will be encouraged to reach for objects while our older friends will work on creeping, crawling, and walking.
Art
This month our older infants will be making wax paper shamrocks by painting the wax paper green. The younger infants will be doing marble art with green paint to make shamrocks. we will also measure our growth with green footprints this month.
Bubbles
Who doesn't love bubbles? Babies love to watch bubbles being blown. It looks like magic to them! Here is our homemade recipe to share with our families if you'd like to make bubbles at home.
- 1/2 cup nontoxic dish soap
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 2tsps. of sugar
Gently mix the dish soap, water, and sugar together in a cup or empty container and stir well.
Welcome and Goodbye
We would like to welcome Conner and Joyah to the Cricket Cottage! We are so happy you are here. We look forward to watching you grow and learn. We would also like to say goodbye and good luck to Josie who is graduating to the Ladybug Cottage. We will miss you dearly!
Introducing Solid Foods
About the time your baby is six months old, it will be time to introduce solid foods.
When the time comes, your baby should be giving clear signs that they are ready to
move beyond their liquid only diet. Your baby is typically ready for solid foods when
they:
• Can keep their head in a steady, upright position
• Stop using their tongue to push food out of their mouth
• Sits well when supported
• Has doubled birth weight and is at least 4-6 months old
• Seems curious about what you are eating
Consult your baby’s pediatrician if you think they are ready for solid foods. To introduce solid foods for the first time, start by nursing or bottle feeding your baby. If baby is hungry, they will only be cranky and agitated. Start with just a small amount of food on the tip of a spoon. Begin with one feeding of solid food per day, adding more food, and more settings as your baby’s appetite increases. When introducing new foods, it is best to do so one at a time. Wait a few days to make sure your baby shows no signs of allergic reaction.
Ladybug Cottage News
February in Review
February was full of LOVE! The children gave out lots of hugs to each other as we focused on gentle touches. They also enjoyed using paintbrushes and their hands for art. We would like to thank all of the parents for their book donations over the last several months. The children really enjoyed reading Llama, Llama, Valentine, during the month of February as well as the other books that were donated from our Scholastic Wishlist.
March
During the month of March we will be introducing the color green as our focus. We will go on buggy rides and discuss all the green things we see. We will also use green paint for art this month.
Promoting Language at Home
Articulation, or the pronunciation of speech sounds in words, is a complicated motor skill. The child must rely on listening and feeling the speech sounds. Children cannot learn to say sounds until they are old enough for muscle growth and fine motor ability to support this motor skill.
Between 1 and 3 years of age, children should use a wide variety of consonant sounds in babbling, vocal play, and first words. First words may not sound perfect, but using them to communicate is wonderful, no matter what they sound like. If a child pronounces juice as “doo” but uses that word to label his/her juice and to request more juice, he/she is using a word functionally to communicate.
Try avoiding saying things like “No, not doo, say juice”. Instead, try “You said juice” Let’s go get some juice!” The child then has a model for pronouncing “juice” accurately, and eventually the speech will improve.
The first sounds that toddlers begin to master are usually lip sounds “p, b, m, w.” Words like “mom, pup, mine, ball, what” may start sounding perfect. Also, “h” and “n” are early sounds. Remember that sounds in the middle of words or at the end may be more difficult than beginning sounds.
Did You Know?
That you shouldn't try to avoid bouts of separation anxiety by sneaking away when your child isn't looking? Babies adapt pretty well to other caregivers. Parents probably feel more anxiety about being separated than infants do! As long as their needs are being met, most babies younger than 6 months adjust easily to other people. Sometime between 4-7 months, babies develop a sense of object permanence and begin to learn that things and people exist even when they're out of sight. This is when babies start playing the "dropsy" game- dropping things over the side of the highchair and expecting an adult to pick them up (which, once retrieved, get dropped again!). The same thing occurs with a parent. Babies realize that there's only mom or dad, and when they can't see you, that means you've gone away. And most don't yet understand the concept of time so they don't know if or when you'll come back. So what's a parent to do? Be calm and consistent. Create an exit ritual during which you say a pleasant, loving, and firm goodbye. Stay calm and show confidence in your child. Reassure him or her that you'll be back- and explain how long it will be until you return using concepts kids will understand (such as after lunch) because your child can't yet understand time. Give him or her your full attention when you say goodbye, and when you say you're leaving, mean it; coming back will only make things worse.
To read the full article from Neumors' KidsHealth check out the following link:
Reminders
- Please remember to have all food containers and sippy cups labeled with your child’s first and last name.
- There should be no children walking around with food or drinks in the classroom. The children should be sitting at the table whenever eating or drinking. This helps keep the class routines consistent and clear to the children as well as helps to maintain a clean environment without the risk of cross contamination of possible allergens.
Thank you for your cooperation and partnership in helping us provide a consistent and safe environment for every child in our program.
Caterpillar Cottage News
February Recap
During the month of February, the Caterpillars were feeling the love. We created various “love” projects including a collage for our bulletin board, sun catcher hearts for our windows, and special pictures for our Mommies and Daddies. We also read books and sang songs about love and friendship.
The Color Green
Our topic for the month of March will be focused on the color green. The children will practice identifying green items around the classroom and playground as well as art and sensory projects revolving around the color green. Also, we will be enjoying a “green snack” during this month.
Language
We will be incorporating the color green into our Circle Time activities. Our mystery box will contain special green items. We will also be singing fun “green songs” such as “5 Green and Speckled Frogs” and “I Had a Little Turtle.” Ms. Jamie and Ms. Felicia will be pointing out green items around the room and playground. It may be a fun activity to participate in at home or on car rides as well.
Green Snack
The first week of our green theme, the children will be enjoying a green snack. We will have a sign-up sheet posted which will include cucumbers, green peppers, and green grapes. Please keep an eye out for it. Thanks!
Sensory
The children love messy sensory projects! We will be creating green flubber which consists of borax, glue, and food coloring. Also, the children will explore green items such as pompoms, plastic grass, and eggs in the sensory table. Green playdough will also be available during small group activities.
Art
Another fun, messy activity the children will participate in will be fingerpainting. We will be mixing green craft sand into the green fingerpaint to make it a different texture for the children to discover. We will display these works of art in the children’s art boards.
Butterfly Cottage News
February Review
February was full of fun, love, and friendship. We had great moments making cards for our families. We enjoyed working on our hugs and kisses patterns and making our love necklaces. Painting with foam paint was a Hulk of a time and our homemade drums really got a beating!
Spring
This month is all about Spring and being outside in the cool/ warm weather. We will be taking our art outside to the garden and playground. Some of our time will be spent on our backs looking at the clouds and painting them. The book we will read to help us get creative is, It Looked Like Spilt Milk, by Charles Shaw. We will also be dying our white t-shirts with beautiful flowers. Thank you in advance for bringing in the shirts and flowers!
School Garden
The children will be decorating the school garden and outside our cottage door with stepping stones and flower fairies. Creating magic and wonderment with the spring flowers. Our garden will also get some new vegetables this month as well. If anyone would like to donate any vegetables, please speak with Ms. Erin. We are looking for two parents to make St. Patrick's day themed playdough. If you are interested in helping out, please let us know.
Rainbow Art
We will be exploring the many beautiful colors of the rainbow. During group discussion, we will learn the order of the colors of a rainbow and try to create our own rainbow during art time. Everyone has a blast creating all different types of art such as paint mixing, fingerpaint, and gluing whatever floats our boats. This month we will explore sand art and see what we can create with assorted colored sand and glue.
Sneaky Leprechauns
Leprechauns are tricky and will probably be all over our cottage this month. They move things and hide gold, so the children will probably will have to make traps in hopes of catching a leprechaun of our own. Wish us Luck!
"What nature delivers to us is never stale. Because what nature creates has eternity in it."
- Isaac Bashevis Singer
Bumblebee Cottage News
For the Love of Books
During the month of March, we will be discussing some favorite children's book
authors. We will reading some of our favorite books and linking hands on learning
activities to Eric Carle, Dr. Seuss, and Ezra Jack Keats.
Books
Though we have many Dr. Seuss and Spring books, we are encouraging the children to bring in books as often as they like. We do not have many St. Patrick’s Day books so if you have any at home, please do share. The children really get a thrill when they are able to share a book with the class. We are encouraging the books are topic related so we can incorporate the lessons into the books. Please bring in any books by Dr. Seuss, Eric Carle, Ezra Jack Keates as well as any that have to do with Spring, luck, leprechauns, or St. Patrick’s Day. Also please let a teacher know that you have brought in a book so they can make note of who has brought a book to school so we do not lose any. Thank you!
Classroom Imagination Tree
The Bumblebee class will be creating our very own imagination tree! We will need
cardboard and lots of different paper (tissue, foil, construction, scrapbook,
newspaper, wrapping paper, etc.) and felt pieces to make it. If you would like to donate items please bring it in as soon as possible. Thank you!
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!
The Bumblebee Cottage will be celebrating Dr. Seuss and all of his wonderful children's books. We all have a favorite book by him and we will explore and do some fun activities to stories such as The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham.
Reading Volunteer
If any parent or family member would like to come in and read a book to the children, this month would be a great time to visit. The children would really enjoy a special story time with a parent or family member. If you are interested, please let us know.
Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar?
The Bumblebee children will be creating a one of a kind classroom book based on the children in our cottage. We will discuss the parts of a book such as author and illustrator and help in the book making process.
Dragonfly Cottage News
Topics
During the month of March, we will be finishing up our Literature curriculum and move into learning about dinosaurs. The children will learn about dinosaur habitats, the different kinds of dinosaur diets, and the study of dinosaurs and how we know about them today. We will really be extending our vocabulary this month by learning about this topic!
Mathematics
This month we will continue to learn about addition and slowly incorporate subtraction into the lesson. We will also begin to write numbers more often. When practicing at home, the four is an L and a line. The eight is the letter S and “connect it with a line”. We are also continuing to work with a number line doing before, after, and in between.
Graduation Ceremony
Can you believe that we only have 3 more months of VPK left? Time flies while you’re having fun!!! Our Graduation Ceremony will be held on Friday, June 3rd at 5:30pm in the Church of Motion Auditorium. Please mark your calendars. More details will be forth coming.
Graduation Committee
Each year, we form a graduation committee to help with all the little details that go into creating a special ceremony for all of our little graduates. If you are interested in serving on the graduation committee, please keep your eye out for more details and the sign-up sheet which will go home in your child’s folder this month. Thank you!
Graduation Slideshow
Ms. Gail is looking for help with the graduation slideshow. If any parent is interested in helping organize, edit, and put together a slideshow please let her know. Basic computer skills are needed. It is a really large task but can easily be accomplished with enough time and help. Please let Ms. Gail know if you are available to help.
Spring Break
The week of March 14th is Spring Break for VPK students. We will be open for care, however it will be a non-instructional week for VPK students and there will be no school for VPK only students this week.